


Wrong Turn

by Justmenoworries



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adopted Children, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Interspecies Adoption, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Same-Sex Marriage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21723562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justmenoworries/pseuds/Justmenoworries
Summary: During one of his adventures, Kenny Tennyson, also known as "Chrono Spanner" winds up in the wrong dimension on the way home.One with it's very own time-traveling hero - or rather, heroine. And she's not exactly happy about having to share her dads with him, no matter how temporary it may be.But with Maltruant planning something behind the scenes and neither Kenny nor his newly found rival able to contact Professor Paradox, there's no time for petty arguments.(But they'll make some anyway.)
Relationships: Rook Blonko/Ben Tennyson
Comments: 9
Kudos: 63





	1. Should've Taken a Left

Traveling through time is fun.

Kenny Tennyson is well aware that using the word “fun” to describe the act of stepping across the very fabric of time itself and simply popping into any point along the line you choose might very well cause a bunch of the science guys back at home, including his mother, to tear their hair out in frustration at something so groundbreaking being described by such a simple, rather ridiculous word. But they’re not here and even if they were, none of them are mind-readers (as far as Kenny knows) and so won’t have the chance to take offense to his descriptors.

Though his mom would probably take one look at him and make a solid guess as to what he’d been thinking….  
Being married to Kenny’s dad and sharing her life with him for over a decade has made her nigh infallible in deducting what goes on in a male Tennyson’s head.

Almost infallible.

For all her sharp wits and penetrating, suspicious stares whenever he comes down the stairs for family dinner just a little out of breath and just a little too late, she has yet to figure out his little, time-traveling super-secret. It’s something Kenny is just a bit proud of. With all due respect and love, fooling his dad is just too easy altogether, though Kenny has been told Ben Tennyson was even easier to dupe back when he was his sons’ age.

Which is a little hard to believe.

Not that Kenny’s dad is dumb, per sé. Just a little slow on the uptake.

Kenny chuckles about that a little, before he presses a button on his Chrono-suit that will open a portal out of the time stream and into his room. Just in time for dinner, too. An oval radiant opening appears in front of him and he steps through it with practiced ease, feeling the familiar carpet under his boots.

Kenny sighs in relief. As amazing and cool his adventures in time are, and he really wouldn’t exchange them for anything in the known universe, being a hero is pretty exhausting in the long run and at the end of the day it’s always a relief to come home. He grins, looking up and raising his hand to push the button that will deactivate his helmet.

And stops.

This isn’t his room.

Although at first glance, it almost looks like his room. There’s the same slick, smooth furniture, the same poster of the Sumo Slammer-reboot on the wall, the same collection of Sumo Slammer-figurines on the shelf, the same panorama window with a fantastic outlook on the city. But as many similarities as there are, the differences outnumber them by far.

For one, everything is _blue_.

Instead of the dark, warm green tone Kenny has always loved, everything is now tinged in a colder, dark blue. The plush on the chairs, the walls, the bed sheets, everything. And that’s not all. Apart from the Sumo Slammer-poster, a poster for the Plumber-academy is plastered right above the bed, the figurines are arranged in a careful, considerate manner from least to most valuable (something Kenny has promised himself to get to, but has never found time or energy for) and the board beneath them is packed to the brim with books of topics Kenny feels tired just reading about from he backs. Quantum-physics, advanced math, the histories of tons of different alien species. And about a dozen adventure novels.

And, which is what ticks Kenny off the most, the room is entirely too clean. The bed is made, the carpet and surfaces are spotless and even though the shelf with the books looks overstuffed, their owner has evidently still thought it necessary to put them in alphabetical order and number of volumes for those belonging to a series.

For a moment, all Kenny can do is stand there and stare, dumbfounded. Has he traveled too far into the future? No, not likely. He knows the route through the time stream like the back of his hand. And besides, the date on the plain little calendar on the desk, taking the place where, in his room, the newest Sumo Slammer-calendar would be, shows the right date and year.

And then something else one the desk catches Kenny’s attention. A framed holo-photograph has been placed beside the calendar. Kenny knows it well, or at least his version of it. His parents had it taken on his tenth birthday, the day his dad gave him his own Omnitrix. It shows, or should show him, his mother and his father, all smiling brightly as Kenny holds his wrist up to show off his present.

Kenny is almost afraid to look at the picture now. If so much around him has changed, what will he see on it? But he has to look. He has to know. So he takes deep breath and starts walking towards the desk.

Only to be knocked back by something heavy ramming into his side. Kenny hits the floor, immediately rolling over and assuming a crouched, but battle-ready stance. He silently thanks aunt Gwendolyn for her persistence in teaching him self-defense. He jumps up, ready to face whoever it was that knocked him over, only to come to a halt mid-movement.

He’s staring at himself.

Or rather, a person about his size wearing a Chrono-suit.

The design is almost identical to his, but just like the room they’re in that isn’t Kenny’s, this Chrono-suit is different from Kenny's in many ways as well.

The helmet’s earpieces are smaller and pointed, resembling cat-ears. There is no long, green scarf. In fact there isn’t anything green. Just like the walls and carpet of the room that looks like Kenny’s but isn’t, the other persons’ Chrono-suit is dark blue and black, instead of white and green.

It takes Kenny a few seconds to register that the impostor (and it _is_ an impostor, Kenny thinks stubbornly, there is only _one_ Chrono Spanner) hasn’t moved at all. They seem to be frozen on the spot, just like him. And even though Kenny can’t see their face through their visor, he feels as if they’re staring at him.

Are they trying to guess his next move?

Kenny slowly shifts his weight sideways, not letting the other out of his sight. He still doesn’t know what’s going on here, but it has to have something to do with the person currently mirroring his movements to take on a battle stance of their own. One much more elegant-looking than his, Kenny notes to his annoyance. If this person is planning to take his place, they should learn to properly imitate his fighting-style first, instead of trying to show off.

Though something about this stance seems vaguely familiar…

Before Kenny can finish that thought, the impostor leaps forwards like a cat, drawing back their arm and aiming right for Kenny’s face. Kenny ducks away under the punch and sweeps their legs out from under them. The other rolls with the fall and bends over backwards to land on their hands and push themselves off the ground and onto their feet, fists already back up.

Kenny blinks. That’s not something aunt Gwendolyn taught him. Not yet, at least. He’ll have to ask her about it once this is over.

Before his opponent can make a move, Kenny jumps forward, aiming a blow at their belt. He has to make sure they don’t escape before anything else. Then he’ll punch their lights out and get his dad to interrogate them. That should help him get to the bottom of this!

The impostor blocks his strike and tries to land one themselves, but Kenny’s reflexes are at full power now and he doesn’t plan on losing. Neither does the other, apparently. When Kenny goes in for another punch, they grab his arm and throw him over their shoulder, using his own momentum against him.

Kenny flies across the room and crashes into the window back first, pain shooting through his body despite the built-in armor in the Chrono-suit. If the fight hasn’t alerted his parents before, it definitely has now, he thinks gloomily. Great. Now he’s going to have to think of a reason why Chrono Spanner is in Kenny Tennyson’s room and why Kenny Tennyson is currently nowhere to be found. Right after he’s done dealing with Psycho Spanner, as he has decided to dub his twin.

Psycho Spanner is already on him again, trying to pin Kenny against the window, but Kenny swiftly rolls away and out under their arms. He tries to restrain them form behind, but Psycho Spanner has evidently expected something like this, because they’ve already turned around to face him when he’s back on his feet.

Now it’s just simple hand-to-hand combat. Him and Psycho Spanner trade blow after blow, parry after parry, neither one able to overpower the other. Kenny is quick and intuitive, but Psycho Spanner is refined and seems to have a whole lot of fighting experience under their belt.

Kenny is about to deliver another kick, when he hears his door sliding open in the background and a voice shouting something. What exactly that is is lost in the rush of adrenaline in his ears, but Kenny’s mood is lifted a whole lot nonetheless. Looks like his dad finally decided that the noise coming from Kenny’s (?) room was not nearly playful enough for it to be just regular training exercises.

Without letting off on his current struggle to restrain Chrono Spanners arms and trying to wrench his own free of their grip as they attempt to do the same, Kenny turns his head to shout.

“Mr. Tennyson, quick! Restrain them, they’re an impostor!”

The cry comes out in stereo and Kenny whips his head around to gape at Psycho Spanner, who seems to return his gaze with an equal amount of surprise. From the corner of his eye, he notices his dad standing in the doorway, the look on his face indicating that he’s just as clueless as to what is going on as Kenny is. There is another person standing behind his dad, but they’re still in the hallway, making it impossible for Kenny to see their face.

Before Kenny can say anything else, Psycho Spanner throws themselves forward, catching Kenny off-guard and throwing him on his back. Kenny mentally slaps himself for getting distracted and puts all of his momentum into continuing the movement. Psycho Spanner and him roll around on the floor, each one trying to get the upper hand and failing.

Just as Kenny is about to give his opponent a clean head-butt, he feels something thin and long wrapping itself around his body, pinning his arms to his sides. The next thing he knows, he and Psycho Spanner are yanked up and slammed into the wall, about two feet apart from each other. Kenny didn’t even hear his dad transforming. Snare-Oh’s bandages make an emergency exit via time travel impossible.

“Alright, here’s what’s gonna happen,” Snare-Oh tells both him and Psycho Spanner, green eyes dangerously narrow. “One of you is going to tell me what happened to my kid. And then, my spouse is gonna contact the Plumbers to take both of you in for questioning until we have the full picture. Understood?”

Kenny’s eyes widen under the visor. If the Plumbers take him into custody he’ll have to remove the helmet! He’d always planned to reveal his identity to his dad someday, but he would definitely prefer it to happen through very different and much more heroic circumstances. Safe to say his dad probably isn’t going to be quite as open to the whole time-traveling hero stuff, if it’s gotten Kenny arrested.

Kenny opens his moth to protest.

“No, wait!”

That wasn’t him.

For the first time since their involuntary duet in the fight, Psycho Spanner has opened their mouth to talk. Without his own voice overlapping, Kenny can tell that they sound pretty young. About his age even.

“Come on, Mr. Tennyson, you know me,” Psycho Spanner continues talking, voice having taken on a slightly desperate edge. “I told you, this person is an impostor! Let me down and I can explain.”

Kenny would be making a come-back about how he isn’t the one trying to imitate, if he wasn’t so baffled that Psycho Spanner honestly thinks that this will work. Their suits look only a bit alike and his dad has worked on more than enough missions with Kenny (albeit unknowingly) to recognize him instantly. There’s no way-

“The way I see it, we’ve just raced upstairs, finding you two trying to strangle each other, in my kids’ room, while my kid is missing,” Snare-Oh responds icily. “I know we’ve been through some things together, but you gotta admit this looks more than a bit suspicious on your part, Tsuki-Yomi.”

_Wait, who?_

Kenny’s eyes dart from his dad’s Thep Kuthan-form to Psycho Spanner and back.

This doesn’t make any sense!

Why is his dad acting like he knows Psycho Spanner? Why is he calling them Tsumi...Tsugi...some weird, strange-sounding name? Why is he talking to _them_ and not Chrono Spanner?

“Perhaps we should give them a chance to explain themselves, Ben,” a voice comes from the doorway. Kenny looks up and lets himself go slack with relief. His uncle Rook is entering the room, stashing away his Proto-Tool as he does so and putting a hand on Snare-Oh’s shoulder.

Uncle Rook has always been good at being the voice of reason to Kenny’s dad’s more careless side. Almost as good as Kenny’s mom. He’ll fix it. He has to. Because right now, Kenny is completely and utterly lost. He notices his dad visibly relaxing at Rook’s touch, though he doesn’t let go of Kenny or Psycho Spanner.

“We don’t know if we can trust them, Blonko,” he says, and Kenny feels the bandages tighten a bit around his body. “And I’m not willing to bet the kiddo’s life on it. Better safe than sorry. We’ll sort this out once we arrive at Plumber’s HQ.”

Kenny gulps and tries to say something, but to his irritation Psycho Spanner beats him to it yet again.

“Wait! That...won’t be necessary,” they say and Kenny is surprised to hear something like defeat in their voice. Psycho Spanner sighs. “Mr. Tennyson, I know where your child is. Let me down and I’ll explain.”

“What?” both Kenny and Snare-Oh exclaim at the same time, one irritated, one mortified. Rook frowns up at Psycho Spanner, crossing his arms.

“This had better not be an attempt to escape custody.”

“No! Well, it is, sorta, but-,” Psycho Spanner shakes their head. “Look, everything will be explained, once I’m able to move my arms again, okay?”

Kenny grits his teeth. This is obviously a trap. But he’s too anxious to say anything. Psycho Spanner knows his identity. Their remark to his dad about knowing where his child is has made that pretty clear. Their attempt to take his identity failed, so now they’re not so subtly blackmailing both him and his dad into letting them go. And if he wants his secret life as a superhero to stay secret, there’s nothing he can do to stop them.

Kenny can only watch with dread as his dad turns his headpiece to face Rook, who gives him a grim nod.

Slowly, carefully, Snare-Oh lowers Psycho Spanner onto the ground, only retreating his bandages when they have both feet on the carpet. Psycho Spanner pads some dust from their suit, then turns to face Kenny’s dad.

“Thanks, Mr. Tennyson.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Snare-Oh replies coldly. “I’m still not convinced you don’t have something to do with all of this.”

Psycho Spanner nods. “Noted.”

They raise a hand to their helmet, letting it hover there for a while.

Kenny feels all of his muscles tensing up with rage. Any minute now Psycho Spanner is going to activate their suit and elude capture, leaving him to deal with his dad and his uncle all by himself and he’s helpless to stop them. He waits for the tell-tale flash of light, prepares to find the spot where Psycho Spanner is currently standing empty in a second.

Instead, Psycho Spanner hesitates. Their hand shakes a little. Then they look up at Snare-Oh again, though for some reason Kenny has a feeling they’re looking at both his dad and uncle Rook. Their shoulders slump.

“Fair warning: I’ll tell you where your kid is now, but you definitely won’t like the answer.”

 _Oh, I bet they won’t_ , Kenny thinks, clenching his fists and glaring at Psycho Spanner from where he’s still pinned to the wall.

“I believe that is for us to decide,” uncle Rook answers. Despite his cool tone, Kenny notices his hands tighten around his still crossed arms. He raises an eyebrow. Uncle Rook cares for him, sure, but Kenny never would have thought his well-being was something he cared about _that_ intensely.

Psycho Spanner huffs in indignation, raises their hand again - and pushes a button on their helmet. There is no portal, no big flash of light like Kenny expected.

Instead, the helmet retreats and folds in on itself to reveal…a Revonnahgander-girl about Kenny’s age. Her hair is tied up in a bun, with two loose bangs framing her face. She looks up at Snare-Oh and Rook, who seem as baffled by this turn of events as Kenny is, her brown eyes nervous.

“Hey dad. Hello father,” she says, a lop-sided smirk forming on her face. Her fangs and her obvious discomfort make the expression look more like a grimace.

Kenny stares at her. He doesn’t know what to feel or say. And the sinking notion that this situation has spiraled completely out of both his control and understanding gets stronger with every second. It takes him a little while to realize just what she said and it only serves to make him more confused and upset.

The bandages around him shift and Kenny turns his head to see Snare-Oh stand up to his full height, eyes blazing. For a split-second, Kenny allows himself to hope that his dad is just as angry at the girls’ antics as he is, but the next sentence coming out of Snare-Oh’s headpiece does away with that hope in a blink.

“Selina Shar Rook-Tennyson,” Snare-Oh growls, glaring down at the girl. “You are in so much trouble.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was bored, then the Brooken inspiration hit me in the face with a brick.
> 
> Coming up with names for OCs is fun^^
> 
> Edit: You ever go over your own writing and realize you've mixed up two fictional franchises? Yeah.^^''


	2. Met a Roadblock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Panic Attacks and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“Do you have _any_ idea what could have happened to you?” Ben asks, audibly trying and failing to keep the anger out of his voice as he glares down at the girl Kenny now knows as Selina.  
  
He has reverted back to human form, giving Kenny the opportunity to get a good look at this alternate version of his dad- no, this alternate version of Ben Tennyson that is _not_ his dad, he reminds himself.

Kenny’s hands clench a little tighter around the helmet in his lap, a small constant and likely the only one he’ll have for some time. Since, in this universe, there is no need for him to keep his identity secret, he’s decided to show his face, if only to avoid suspicion.  
  
The look on Ben’s and uncle Rook’s (no, _just_ Rook in this world) faces have been interesting to say the least. Kenny doesn’t blame them. The familial resemblance between him and his dad has always been striking and if his skin tone and facial structure hasn’t given the identity of his other parent away, this world must be even more different from his than he thought. Which isn’t exactly comforting.  
  
The Ben Tennyson of this world isn’t all that different from Kenny’s dad: the same light brown mop of hair with the occasional streaks of gray, the same half-heartedly trimmed beard, even the clothing and the Biomnitrix gauntlets on his lower arms are identical. Which makes the few details that differ all the more striking.  
  
The old scars that criss-cross over every part of bare skin Kenny can see, the small necklace carrying a small, orange stone. And the fact that he has a child in this world that is not Kenny.  
  
Said child is sitting on the opposite end of the sofa, looking every bit as contrite as Kenny currently feels. Her fists are buried into the fabric and her mouth is a straight line as she holds Ben’s angry glare with a defiant one of her own.  
  
Kenny’s eyes slowly wander over to Rook. He’s currently standing slightly behind Ben, watching him chew out Selina with a light scowl on his face, arms crossed. Like with this world’s Ben, at first glance there’s not much that tells him apart from uncle Rook back home.

At first glance.  
  
It takes Kenny a few seconds to notice that this Rook’s left leg is a prosthetic. A really well camouflaged one. If it weren’t for the stiffness in movement that was just slight enough to be missed entirely, yet a little too much to be natural, Kenny wouldn’t have seen it at all. He wonders just what happened to the Rook in this world and who was responsible.  
  
“But nothing _did_ happen to me,” Selina retorts, eyes flashing. “You fought criminals when you were my age!”  
  
“Yeah, but I didn’t keep it a secret from my family to find out when I got myself killed!” Ben snaps and drags a hand through his hair. “Did you ever think about what we would have done if you’d gotten hurt?“, he asks quietly. “Official Plumber-work is no place for a kid!”  
  
“But you-!”  
  
“ _I_ didn’t have a choice back then! You have and you’re just _throwing it away!_ ” Ben shouts.  
  
Selina seems to visibly shrink a little at the sudden shift in tone in Ben’s voice. Kenny realizes he’s reflexively done so as well.  
He knows that voice. That’s always been his dad’s “Now you’ve really screwed up”-voice and he’s never used it lightly.  
  
“W-Well, you didn’t seem to mind when you gave me the Omnitrix,” Selina says bravely, crossing her arms. Kenny notes that the gesture mirrors Rook. “And Professor Paradox seemed certain I was ready when he gave me the suit.”  
  
Ben’s eyes widen. “He did _what_?”  
  
Selina cringes. Bad mistake.  
  
Ben looks just about ready to go on a rampage, when a firm hand sets itself on his shoulder.  
  
“I believe I should take it from here,” Rook says, catching Ben’s eyes with his own.  
  
For a second it looks like Ben might object, but then he sighs and throws his arms up in defeat, stepping a little to the side. Rook gives him a small smile and squeezes his shoulder reassuringly. The gesture seems to calm Ben a little, at least enough for some of the tension to go out of his posture.  
  
Kenny watches this interaction, not knowing what to feel. He doesn’t remember this kind of silent exchange ever happening between _his_ parents. His mom never managed to get his dad to relax like that. If anything, they always somehow managed to rile each other up even _more_ whenever he was in for a scolding.  
  
Rook steps forward and looks down at Selina, eyes cold. “Your dad is right. What you did was incredibly irresponsible and poorly though out.”  
  
That actually seems to get to Selina. She lowers her head, eyes full of shame. “I...I just wanted to help.”  
  
“Then you should have waited until you were old enough to join the Plumber’s Academy,” Rook responds. “For now, consider this suit confiscated.”  
  
“What?” Selina jumps up. “You can’t do that!”  
  
“I believe I can.” Rook’s eyes turn into small slits. “And frankly, a break in your days of reckless vigilantism should be the least of your worries right now.”  
  
Selina’s eyes widen and her hands curl into shaking fists. “But-! But-!”  
  
“No ‘buts’, young lady,” Ben interrupts, stepping forward so he stands by Rook’s side. He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. Kenny knows that gesture all too well. It’s a sure-fire way to tell that as far as Ben is concerned, the discussion’s over. “Just...go to your room and take that thing off. We’ll talk about this later.”  
  
Selina opens her mouth to object, then stops, takes a deep breath and quickly walks past her dads, expression strained.  
  
Kenny thinks he sees a treacherous tear escape before she manages to hurry up the stairs and out of sight. When he looks back at Ben and Rook, their tired eyes and hanging shoulders make it more than clear that they are about as happy about this conversation’s outcome as Selina is.  
  
Kenny can’t help but feel kind of forgotten in all of this.

He looks down at his helmet, unsure of what to do or say. He feels someone’s eyes on him and raises his head to see Ben watching him with a mixture of mild curiosity and exhaustion. Then he shakes his head and turns around, trotting towards what Kenny knows is the kitchen. Or at least it was in his universe.  
  
“You deal with this,” Ben mumbles, laying a hand on Rook’s shoulder as he passes him by. “I’m gonna make dinner.”  
  
Rook frowns and turns. “Ben-”  
  
“I just...need some time right now,” Ben cuts him off, not even looking back.  
  
Kenny feels a lump forming in his throat.  
  
It shouldn’t hurt so much that this Ben apparently doesn’t even want to talk to him. Kenny is not _his_ child after all.  
  
“Um, well...Kenny, correct?” Kenny looks up at Rook’s slightly nervous smile and nods. “I would like to apologize for my husband’s behavior. It has nothing to do with you, he is just...preoccupied at the moment. It has been a long day.”  
  
Kenny swallows. “It’s fine, don’t sweat it,” he lies, forcing a grin onto his face. “My dad’s like that too before he gets his afternoon smoothie.”  
  
Rook looks visibly uncomfortable at that. Of course. Hearing some random kid indirectly calling your spouse “my dad” probably doesn’t make you feel all that good. Kenny kicks himself mentally. Looks like he’s destined to make everyone in this universe dislike him at least to some degree. Perhaps it’d be better to cut his losses.  
  
He jumps up from the sofa, placing the helm back over his head. “I...um...I should get going. My parents are probably waiting for me and...all that. Yeah.”  
  
“Are you certain?” Rook asks, eyes worried. “I admit I do not know much about time travel, besides the theory, but will you be able to make this journey on your own?”  
  
“Yeah! Yeah, totally,” Kenny says quickly. “I’ve, I’ve done this at least a hundred times before, no worries!”  
  
Rook doesn’t look entirely convinced. But before he can open his mouth to say something else, Kenny quickly slams a button on his belt, causing a shiny, white portal to appear to his right. “Anyway, it’s been really nice meeting you all, hope you get all that stuff sorted out soon okaybye!”  
  
And he’s off.  
  
The time stream welcomes him with it’s usual calm, almost serene atmosphere and, more importantly, complete solace. No other Chrono-Spanners, no second versions of his dad or uncle, no awkward family feuds he’s forced to witness. Just him and the endless void between moments.  
  
Kenny takes a moment to enjoy the quiet. This place always did a good job of calming him down after a particularly stressful day. There’s just something about the knowledge of having a place only you can go, a place that no one else will ever find or follow you to.  
  
_Except apparently you’re_ not _the only one who can come here_ , a nasty little voice in the back of his head whispers. _Except someone else has been using this place probably for as long as you have, if not longer._

Kenny shuts it out. Soon he’ll be home and then he won’t have to think about Selina, or her suit, ever again.  
  
He moves forward, retraces the old, familiar steps that should lead him home. Actual home. He floats his way through the stream, humming as he does so. He finds himself wondering what’s for dinner and if his parents have noticed he’s gone yet. If he puts some effort into it, he could step out of the time-stream early, so that they’ll never know he was gone in the first place.  
  
Satisfied with that plan, Kenny extends a hand towards his desired spot in the time-stream out of habit – and meets a wall. No, wall isn’t the right word for it. Because it’s not something visible that blocks his way along a certain perimeter. It’s a clear...resistance that keeps him from advancing further. Kenny frowns.  
  
That’s new.  
  
Is he imagining things?  
  
He raises his other hand and positions it on roughly the same spot, a little to the right. The resistance is still there. Kenny retreats a bit, taking in the area. Around him the void seems the same as ever. There’s no obvious sign that there’s anything different. But something has to be different! Why else would this..strange obstacle just pop up like this?  
  
Kenny groans. He’s had enough excitement for today. He just wants to go home. He backs up a bit more, than tries to walk through again. Only to grit his teeth in frustration when he finds he still can’t.  
  
“Oh, so that’s how you wanna play, huh?” Kenny asks no one in particular, glaring at the spot where he presumes the offending invisible barrier is positioned. He takes a few steps backwards, cracking his knuckles. “You _definitely_ picked the wrong day to mess with Chrono Spanner.”  
  


* * *

  
Ben raises his fist to softly rap on the door in front of him.  
  
“Come in,” comes the icy response from inside.  
  
Ben sighs a little and presses the door opener on the side. The door slides open, revealing Selina sitting cross-legged on her bed, having changed into a Sumo Slammer-shirt and shorts, apparently engrossed in a book on Tetramand history. The strange time-travel suit lies neatly folded beside her.  
  
Ben stands there for a second, twiddling his thumbs. He’s never been good at serious father-daughter-talk after a fight and now part of him regrets rejecting Blonko’s offer to have him be the one to go up instead.  
Especially since Selina seems determined to ignore him.  
Ben opens his mouth. Closes it. Fiddles with his gauntlets, the Amber Ogia stone around his neck. Lets his eyes roam around the room and linger on the amazing view of the evening sky outside of Selina’s window.  
  
Eventually, he just awkwardly lumbers over to the other side of the room, picks up the suit and returns to the door. He hesitates for a second and turns around, looking back at the bed. Selina still isn’t looking at him.  
  
“Hey, um,” Ben starts, frantically searching his brain for something to say. What _can_ he even say? “We’ll be having dinner in a few minutes,” he says lamely.  
  
“Okay,” Selina answers curtly, nose still in her book, expression cool.  
  
Ben flees the room, feeling pathetic and miserable. The suit is heavy in his arms and he finds himself thinking about just smashing it outright. If it was physically possible, he wold strangle Professor Paradox right now. How long has he sent his daughter on dangerous missions without Ben’s or Blonko’s knowledge? How many times has Selina almost been killed right in front of his eyes as Tsuki-Yomi, without them realizing?  
  
How many times did he almost lose her, like he almost lost-  
  
Ben finds himself breathing heavily. His heart is pounding and he feels very hot and very cold at once. His vision is getting blurry and his chest and head hurt really badly all of a sudden. Choking, he stumbles, steadying himself on the right wall of the staircase.  
  
Ben lets out a pained groan and grits his teeth. _Great. Just what I needed.  
  
_After that, he can’t think coherently anymore. It’s like a dark void is forming in his head, consuming everything, drowning it out, suffocating it.  
  
“-en? Ben!”  
  
Someone grabs his shoulders tightly. Ben raises his head and looks into Rook’s calming, brown eyes.  
  
“It is alright Ben,” he says softly. “Look at me. Breathe. In... and out.”  
  
Ben tries to. It’s anything but easy with the unwanted intrusive thoughts of loss and death looming in the back of his head. But with Rook’s help, he eventually manages to get at least a few even breaths in. They still continue to just stand there for a while, Ben letting himself sink into his husband’s arms.  
  
“Was it Revonnah again?” Rook asks quietly.  
  
Ben’s eyes involuntarily wander to Rook’s prosthetic. “Kind of. Don’t really wanna talk about it.”  
  
“Understandable. Do you want to help me set the table?”  
  
“Yeah,” Ben mutters. “Sounds like a plan.”  
  
Rook nods, then steps back, bends down to pick up the suit and helmet (Ben hadn’t even realized he’d dropped it) and turns to walk towards the living room. Still feeling a little shaky, Ben makes his way to the kitchen. He hears Rook come back in, as he puts the plates on the table.  
  
“I stored it in the family vault for now,” Rook informs him. “We will have to move it though, Selina will have the new code figured out by the day after tomorrow.”  
  
Ben chuckles. “I’ll do it. She hates me now anyway.”  
  
“I doubt that,” Rook says dryly, walking over to the cupboard and getting three glasses out. “If anything, she hates both of us.”  
  
“Yeah, not really making me feel better here.” Ben groans, propping himself up on the table. “I don’t know, maybe I overreacted. I just… I don’t want to lose her, Blonko.”  
  
“I know,” Rook responds quietly, walking around the table to lay an arm around Ben’s shoulder. “Me neither.”  
  


* * *

Selina sits on her bed, knees pulled up to her chin. The book lies next to her feet, discarded.  
  
Her parents should be in the kitchen now, waiting for her. She doesn’t know if she even wants to go. She doesn’t know if she still can after witnessing that scene on the stairs.  
  
Her dad has never been perceptive when he’s upset, which made it easy to sneak after him and see where he’d put her suit. That was the plan, at least. Until she saw her dad break down, a few seconds after doing everything she could to let him know she was still mad and not willing to talk. And now she can’t help but wonder if she’s the one responsible.  
  
She’d been rushing back to her room as soon as she heard her father approach. She just couldn’t bear to watch any more. But still underneath all the regret and emotional turmoil she still feels angry at both of them for taking her Chrono-suit away.  
  
Was she really doing such a bad job?  
  
How many times has she come in to save the day in the nick of the moment? How many times have they only managed to end a mission successfully because Tsuki-Yomi had their backs?  
  
It isn’t fair.  
  
It just isn’t fair!  
  
All because of that Kenny, that _imitator,_ who just had to break into her room and mess everything up! Selina feels her claws come out at the mere thought of him and that puke-green imitation of her suit he was wearing.  
  
The way he stared at her and her parents during the argument earlier, as if there was something wrong with them, as if they were the ones who didn’t belong. Selina hopes he has left by now. If she never sees him again, it will be too soon.  
  
Her mental tirade is interrupted by a distinct growling noise. Selina starts and looks down at her belly. Has it been that long since she’s had something to eat? Well, she did have breakfast this morning. And spent most of her day after that exploring the time-stream. Selina sighs.  
  
It seems there is no way to avoid dinner now.  
  
Still aggravated, Selina leaves her room and heads downstairs, scuffling her feet as she does so.  
  
Her dad and her father have already seated themselves when she comes in. They both look equal parts surprised and relieved that she came to join them. For a second Selina finds herself wanting to retreat back to her room. But then she sees the steaming pot on the table and her sensitive nose catches the strong smell of pasta, making her stomach rumble. So she awkwardly takes her seat on her dad’s left, opposite from her father.  
  
She’s not mad at them anymore, not really, but she’s also not ready to talk to them yet either.  
  
“Alright,” her dad starts, obviously unsure how to take her stubborn silence. “Guess we’ll just start-”  
  
An ear-shattering crash sounds though the house and all three of them jump up at once.  
  
Ben whips around to face the rest of the family. “You two stay here!”  
  
Before either of them can answer, he storms into the living room, forearms already crossed – only to stop dead in his tracks and stare. The living room table has been knocked over and lying on it is a boy in a suit groaning in pain and rubbing his backside.  
  
Kenny looks up into Ben’s – the other Ben’s – half confused, half mad expression and chuckles nervously, rubbing his neck.  
  
“Err...that dinner invitation still standing?”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And in this chapter we learn a little bit more about the Rook-Tennysons and their alternate universe. 
> 
> I'm honestly looking forward to writing more of them and their relationship to each other.
> 
> Kinda worried I may have made Selina unlikable though. Hopefully not!


	3. Error

Kenny has never felt so out of place in his entire life. Not that he had expected a hug and a warm welcome after his little crash-landing.  
  
_Of all the alternate timeline_ _s_ _in all the alternate universes I have to get myself thrown back into this one_ , he thinks gloomily, picking at the noodles on his plate and pointedly avoiding the eyes of the Revonnahgander girl sitting across from him.  
  
Selina hasn’t spoken a single word to him yet, and Kenny doubts she ever will. Her expression when Kenny reluctantly walked into the kitchen behind this universe’s Ben has made it more than clear what she thinks of his fast return. As well as the fact that, as he has explained feeling his face heat up with embarrassment, his recklessness resulted in his suit getting damaged, thus wrecking his only way out of this universe. She’s not happy with it, to say the least.  
  
Neither is Kenny.  
  
The Ben from this universe doesn’t seem to know how to deal with this situation. Much like Kenny’s, his eyes remain steadfastly on his plate, only occasionally drifting up to Selina. Kenny they avoid like the plague.  
  
“Kenny?”  
  
“Huh?” Kenny flinches, realizing this universe’s Rook has been speaking to him. “Sorry, what?”  
  
Rook gives him the slightly uneasy smile Kenny has grown so used to seeing from their previous conversation. “I was asking if you have any way of making contact with your family. They must be worried.”  
  
Kenny’s hand tightens around his fork. ‘Worried’ probably doesn’t even begin to describe what kind of state his parents are in right now.  
  
“No,” he mutters.  
  
To his surprise, Rook lays a comforting hand on his shoulder and even the smile loses its uneasyness for a few seconds. Now it’s just warm and assuring. Fatherly, even.

“Do not worry,” Rook says. “I am certain we will find a way to send you back home in no time.”  
  
“Um, yeah. Thanks,” Kenny replies.  
  
His throat tightens up a little. It’s weird being treated like this by a person who looks like his uncle, while a man who looks like his father is sitting right across from him and doing seemingly whatever he can to block out Kenny’s presence. It feels...backwards. _Wrong_.  
  
Rook’s hand disappears from his shoulder and Kenny finds himself regretting that thought. It’s not this Rook’s fault that he’s used to a different world. A different life.  
  
“There’s not much we can do today. HQ’s already switched to night-shift by now.” Ben still doesn’t look at Kenny, even as he’s talking. “We’ll pay them a visit tomorrow, see if they can do something about the suit. You can stay in the guest room ‘til then.”

It’s the first time he’s spoken to Kenny directly and every word seems forced, as if he has to will his mouth to open for each sentence. Kenny tries not to take it personal. It’s better than being ignored, right?

“Thanks,” Kenny repeats, trying to put as much genuine gratefulness and enthusiasm into the word as he can this time. He doesn’t want to come across as ungrateful, especially since _he_ is the one who burst into _their_ life without warning. If they wanted to, they’d have every right to just hand him off to someone else and go about their day. Selina’s current glare in his direction suggests that she at least would very much like to do so.  
  
“Selina, is there a problem?” Rook asks, with an expression that reads ‘There had better not be’.  
  
“No father,” Selina mutters, scraping together the last remnants of her dinner. She stuffs the remaining few strings of pasta into her mouth, then abruptly stands up, takes her plate and puts it in the sink. Then she leaves the kitchen without a word, not sparing Kenny another glance. Kenny isn’t sure if he should feel glad about that or not.

It’s clear that Selina doesn’t like him and he kind of understands why. Still, part of him can’t help but feel very slighted with that. It’s not his fault his suit is malfunctioning! And maybe if she hadn’t attacked him on sight, they wouldn’t have gotten into a brawl loud enough to attract the adults. And then her identity could have stayed a secret! And he wouldn’t be stuck in this weird parallel universe where someone else was Chrono Spanner!

Kenny takes a deep breath. Tries to calm down and succeeds only mostly. He won’t have to deal with her for much longer anyway. Tomorrow they’ll be getting his suit fixed and then he’ll be home in no time. He ignores the nagging suspicion in the back of his head that it won’t be that easy. Sighing, he gets up, putting his empty plate in the sink as well.

“Is it okay if I got to bed now? It’s sort of been a long day for me.”

Rook nods and pushes his chair back. “Of course. I will show you to your room.”  
  
“No need,” Kenny says quickly. “I know my way around.”

He doesn’t think he can stomach being shown around his own home. Even if it technically isn’t his home.

Ben and Rook exchange looks, but whatever they’re thinking they obviously don’t want to share.

“Well, alright then,” Rook says, sounding slightly uncomfortable. “Have a good night.”

Kenny walks out of the room as fast as he can without it looking like he’s running away. It’s almost laughable how normal the rest of the apartment seems once the alternate Ben and Rook are no longer in sight. If Kenny ignores the absence of his mom’s archaeology magazines on the table or the family pictures that depict not him but Selina in various stages of life until now, he can pretend he’s home.

If he just looks past the various Revonnahgander-art on the walls where his mom’s copies of long-lost murals recently re-discovered by her should be, the newspaper-clippings congratulating not the Tennyson-, but the Rook-Tennyson couple on yet another victory over a notorious criminal, it’s not quite as bad.

Or so he tells himself.

His feet carry him up the stairs like on auto-pilot. He doesn’t even look up when he presses the door opener.

“What do _you_ want?”

Kenny jumps and looks up. Selina is scowling at him from where she’s sitting at her desk, holographic screen depicting something Kenny can’t recognize at this distance. He feels a twist in his gut. He took the route to his room, or where his room should be without realizing it.

“Um, sorry. Wrong door,” he mumbles. He should leave. Obviously he’s no more welcome here now than he was the first time. But he just can’t help but linger and let his eyes roam.

It’s just so bizarre. Part of this room is stuffed with things he could see belonging to him, but the other half, he can’t see himself in at all. He stops at the holo-photo on the desk he hasn’t been able to look at earlier this day(has it really only been a few hours ago?). He gulps. It doesn’t show him. Of course it doesn’t.

Instead, it’s Selina’s wide smile and it’s her wrist held up and presenting the brand – new Omnitrix clamped to it. Only hers is dark blue like most of her room and instead of Kenny’s mom and dad, it’s this universes’ Ben and Rook positioned behind her, both looking just as proud, if not more.

“Has no one ever told you that staring is _rude_?” Selina’s voice cuts through his thoughts. Kenny jumps and looks at her.

It’s the first time he’s actually getting a good look at her. He’s been too confused to really do it the first time she’s taken off her helmet and too busy trying to meld with the furniture during her argument with this universe’s Ben and Rook after that. She’s about his size, maybe a bit taller he reluctantly admits to himself and has long black hair that is currently tied back into a ponytail instead of a top knot with two long bangs framing her face. Her face markings are unique and intricate, like every Revonnahganders, with two black, sharp stripes over her dark brown eyes. They look a bit like scars, which makes her currently deepening scowl all the more intimidating. Not that he _is_ intimidated, Kenny tells himself. He just has an eye for such things!

“And so is outstaying your welcome, for that matter,” she continues, standing up from her chair and stomping over to him. “What is it with you and my room?”

Kenny feels a slight pang in his chest at the words ‘my room’. All of a sudden he’s annoyed.

“You know, in my world, this is _my_ room,” he says, standing up to his full height and giving Selina what he hopes is a glare just as scary as hers.

“Then why not go back there and bother someone else?” Selina snaps, crossing her arms.

“I would, but my suit’s kinda broken right now. You know, ‘cause you attacked me?”

“You broke into my room!”

“It was an accident! And I didn’t know it was your room!”

“So you just snoop around other peoples’ rooms for fun?”

“When they’re actually _my_ room, yeah!”

“This isn’t _your room_!” Selina yells, hands clenched into fists, eyes blazing.

For a while they just stare each other down. Then this universes’ Ben’s voice calls from the stairs.

“Selly? Everything okay up there?”

Selina jerks as if caught doing something she shouldn’t. “I am fine, dad,” she calls back.

“You sure?” comes the response in a slightly disbelieving tone.

“Yes, just...reading.”

“Alright.” Both Kenny and Selina keep quiet until the sound of heavy foot steps has faded away.

“Since you seem to know your way around here so well,” Selina snaps in a slightly hushed tone, “I am sure you know that the guest room is two doors to the right. Maybe you should actually go there now.”

Kenny glares at her. “Maybe I will.”

“Fine then.”

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

With a huff, Selina steps back, pushes a button on a panel Kenny can’t see and the door closes in his face. For a second he just stands there, fuming. Who does she think she is, yelling at him and treating him like a criminal? She was the one who overreacted! And why does she have a suit anyway? There’s only one Chrono Spanner!

And blue is a _dumb_ color for a suit, Kenny thinks sullenly, as he makes his way towards the guest room.

* * *

Green is a _ridiculous_ color for a suit, Selina thinks to herself angrily, plopping down on her chair.

Remembering Aunt Gwen’s meditation lessons, she closes her eyes, takes a few deep slow breaths and uncoils her fists. He’ll be gone by tomorrow, he’ll be gone by tomorrow, he’ll be gone by tomorrow, she repeats in her mind, over and over until she doesn’t feel like punching someone anymore.

Then she turns her mind back on the research she’s been doing before that annoying impostor – Kenny – just burst into her room. Her monitor still shows the data she’s collected during her latest trip through the time-stream. To anyone else, the lines, numbers and tables on the screen would be incomprehensible gibberish. As it should be. Selina has thought up a system on her own a year ago, in case some way too curious visitor decides to go through her computer.

The lines represent the time-streams she’s been able to assess and map up until now, the numbers dates, years and months that feature significant historical events, the table measures the fluctuations inside the timelines. Back when Professor Paradox has given her Tsuki-Yomi’s suit, she has made a promise to him and to herself that she’ll take this task seriously. And she intends to give it her all to fulfill that promise.

And though she would never admit it out loud, Kenny appearing in a suit nigh identical to hers, along with his reaction indicating he’s never heard of her, has made her wonder if maybe she’s done or said something that would make Professor Paradox doubt her. Why else would he employ another successor? She wishes she could ask him, but there are two things that make this decidedly not an option. First, the professor has his own way of coming and going and right now, she has no way of contacting him. And second, if this is his way of telling her she has to step up her game, calling him and asking about Kenny would feel too much like whining.

Selina huffs. She’ll just have to show Paradox he _didn’t_ make a mistake by choosing her. She’ll have to work even harder to proof herself. Starting with this.

She furrows her brow, looking at her latest data. Before coming home and being confronted with a total stranger standing in the middle of her room, she’s been on one of her weekly patrols through the time- stream. The modifications she made to her suit have made it possible for her to record and analyze her surroundings on the go and what she’s recorded back then is giving her reason to worry. Normally she can tell at a glance if there’s even the slightest aberration from what she has pinned down as the normal amount of time fluctuations and splitting timelines. But right now, she’s not entirely sure what she’s looking at.

The lines seem to be mixing up and crossing over at random. The fluctuations on the table plummet and sky-rocket at irregular intervals. The numbers are flickering. Selina leans back on her chair, crossing her arms and thinking. Either she needs a new computer. Or something is terribly, terribly wrong with the time-stream. She sighs, thinking of her Chrono-suit, probably long since locked up in the family vault. She could take the time to find out the combination, sure. But there’s no telling what her parents will do once they find out she’s taken the suit back. Her dad was already looking like he wanted to destroy it for good back when they had their argument. He might go through with it, if she gives him reason to think he has to to keep her away from it.

For a split-second, asking Kenny to borrow his suit crosses her mind but she shuts that thought down almost immediately. She doesn’t need help, least of all from him. A small voice in the back of her head tells her she’s being childish and stubborn, but she ignores it.

Shooting a look at the clock, Selina notices how late it is. Tiredness seems to drape itself over her like a blanket all of a sudden. It’s been a long day, for multiple reasons. Yawning, she shuts off her computer and crawls into bed. The mess of timelines and the out of control fluctuations refuse to leave her mind. Selina pulls the blanket over her head and forces herself to breathe evenly, like aunt Gwen taught her. She’ll fix this. She’s Tsuki-Yomi. With or without the suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, guess who's not dead?
> 
> Selina and Kenny are just straight up not having a good time.
> 
> Who is more miserable right now?
> 
> Discuss!
> 
> (Also, I am incredibly hyped about posting chapter 4 and super excited how y'all will react to it. It features some of the more extreme ways this timeline differs from the OV-timeline and I think you're gonna be more than a little surprised^^)


	4. Rerouting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if this is really a trigger warning, but some people could find this upsetting so:
> 
> This chapter has a brief scene of a detached prosthetic limb, as well as the description of a stump.
> 
> Viewer discretion is advised, i suppose.

When Kenny wakes up, he’s confused at first.

He’s not in his room.

Did he come home late and decide to sleep in the guest room?

Then he sees the Amber Ogia – rug on the floor and it all comes back to him. Getting lost in the time-stream. Ending up in a dimension that looks similar to his, but isn’t. The other Chrono Spanner.

No, the person with a suit identical to his who calls herself _Tsuki-Yomi_ and definitely _isn’t_ Chrono Spanner, he corrects himself angrily.

The other Ben who won’t even look at him. And who’s married to this dimension’s Rook.

Kenny still can’t wrap his head around that last one. He’s always known his mom and dad were soulmates. Heck, apparently the universe itself knew! So why is _this_ Ben married to someone else? What happened to this dimension’s Kai Green?

Kenny sits up and shakes his head. He’ll never get used to this place and it’s upside-down-ness.

Not that he needs to. He’s going home today. No use wreaking his brain about stuff he won’t have to deal with in a short while anyway, right?

Still weary, but determined to get to the part where the suit takes him home as quickly as possible, Kenny drags himself out of the guest room and down the hall.

The apartment is dark and quiet. Kenny wonders just how early in the morning it is. No one else seems to be up yet, which is just as well. He can think of a whole lot of things more fun than having to deal with Selina first thing in the morning. She’s probably grouchy when it’s early. Well, grouchi _er_.

Kenny shuffles over to the bathroom door, rubbing his eyes and reaching for the door-opener. He notices way too late that there is a bit of light shining on the carpet from underneath the door.

The bathroom opens and Kenny looks up to see this dimension’s Rook, just about to get out of the shower.

It’s obvious Rook is as unprepared for this confrontation as Kenny is. He barely manages to grab a towel from a nearby rack to cover up with. Kenny’s eyes widen and he feels his face grow hot. He quickly looks down to avoid seeing any of _that_ – only to have have his eyes be met with a stump where Rook’s leg should be.

Kenny can’t help it: he stares.

It’s not just morbid fascination, it’s that it looks so much _worse_ than he would have thought.

Rook’s blue, black-striped fur is even and well-groomed everywhere but there. Part of the stump is covered with irregular looking patches, interrupted by pink flesh. It’s like the world’s most grotesque jigsaw – puzzle. The limb itself seems to have healed relatively fine, but the way it just… _stops_ right under the knee when it really shouldn’t -

Someone roughly grabs Kenny by the shoulder. “Enjoying the show?”

Kenny jumps and turns his head, to look up at a very angry Ben.

The white tank-top and green sweats indicate that this dimension’s Ben can’t have been up for that long, but the way he’s currently glaring daggers at Kenny makes him seem wide awake.

“N-No, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to - ,“ Kenny stutters.

“Ben, this is my fault. I should have remembered we had a guest,” he hears Rook say behind him.

“That’s no excuse for being rude,” Ben snaps, though his grip on Kenny loosens considerably. “If you’re done staring, there’s another bathroom down the hall. You can wash up there.”

Kenny just nods. He has a feeling pointing out that he knows that would just be digging himself deeper into the mud. Ben lets go of him and Kenny quickly makes his way down the hall, hoping that this incident hasn’t put him on Rook’s bad side too.

* * *

“That was completely unnecessary.”

Ben turns to look at his husband, who has put his prosthesis back on and is frowning at him, arms crossed.

Ben sighs, scratching the back of his head. “I know, I know. I shouldn’t have lost my cool like that. It’s just, I know you don’t like it when people… ya know, stare, and he - “

“ - is a ten–year–old child, who has never seen someone with a missing limb. Truly, a dire threat. I was lucky you were there to protect me.” Rook turns to the mirror to dry himself off.

“Alright, alright, point taken. I’ll go apologize,” Ben chuckles, putting his hands up in mock surrender.

Rook turns around to him, eyes dead serious. “You had better. Scaring him like that was inappropriate. And do not think I haven’t noticed your behavior towards him yesterday. Whatever, or rather, whoever he might remind you of, this is no way to act towards a child.”

Ben flinches and looks away. “I.. I _know,_ alright? It’s just, he looks so much like _her_ and I can’t help thinking she would be having a field day with this, probably tell me how she was right about me and you after all. And I’m scared of what _you_ probably feel after seeing him and-”

He feels a hand lay itself on his shoulder and looks up to see Rook softly smiling down at him. “Ben, why would I ever think less of you over this? Whatever some other version of you might or might not be doing in another universe is of no matter to me. The only version of you that matters to me is the one I married.”

Ben can’t help but give a lop-sided smile.

“You sure? ‘Cause I could have sworn you were ogling 23-me pretty bad last time we visited.”

Rook chuckles and lightly shoves him out of the room.

“If you are done agonizing over my perceived infidelity, perhaps you should start getting dressed. You did remember that it is your turn to take Selina to school today?”

Ben’s eyes widen and he curses under his breath. “You get to Plumber-headquarters with the kid, I’ll catch up once I’m done dropping Selina off!”

With that he turns around zips down the hallway, necklace bouncing off his chest. Rook watches his husband go with a smile. Even in his thirties, Ben still can’t be on time to save his life.

Rook turns to pick up his clothes from where they lie, neatly folded on a stool, only to be met with a sharp pain shooting up his prosthesis the second he moves his leg. Rook flinches, dropping his clothing. He sinks down on his good knee and clasps his leg with his hands, gritting his teeth until he doesn’t feel like there’s a small fire burning inside his limb anymore. As soon as the pain starts to ebb, a slight humming emerges from the prosthesis’ calf.

Rook frowns. He carefully drags a hand over the leg, feeling for a dent, a hole or other external damage. But there is nothing. Only smooth, cool metal replacing flesh. The humming is pretty quiet now, barely audible. If he couldn’t feel the slight vibrations, Rook wouldn’t know it was still there at all.

His fur stands up slightly in realization. For a second he wants to call for Ben, but then he stops himself and shakes his head. Ben has enough trouble right now as is. Besides, if this is what he thinks it is, Ben wouldn’t be able to help him anyway.

Rook takes a deep breath, stands up straight, re-collects his clothing and presses a button on the console next to the door, closing it. He needs to get to Plumber headquarters as soon as possible.

* * *

Kenny does his best not to shuffle as the elevator descends.

Breakfast has been awkward, to say the least. Selina and this dimension’s Ben had already left for school and Rook seemed distracted, barely reacting to Kenny’s admittedly terrible attempts to make small-talk.

He’s just as quiet now, the only sound in the room being the quiet humming of the elevator.

Kenny sighs and busies himself by looking out the windows at the side of the elevator shaft. Another thing the tower doesn’t have in his dimension.

Hovering vehicles containing both humans and aliens, holo-billboards showing movie posters, ads and news and sleek towers reflecting the sunlight of a new day. If he squints, he can briefly make out Madison Elementary School in the distance. It’s kind of strange to see it on a school day and not rush towards the hover-bus stop.

Although technically, he’s not a student in this universe.

Kenny wonders how many his friends back home are friends with Selina in this dimension. He feels an irrational bout of jealousy at the thought of Selina trading jokes with Devlin. Pushing the image to the back of his mind, he cautiously glances up at Rook. They haven’t really spoken since the incident this morning. Apart from Rook telling Kenny he’d be bringing him to Plumber’s HQ after breakfast, that is.

Kenny gulps slightly. If this whole silent treatment is about their uncomfortable run-in, better to get it over with quickly and apologize.

“Um,” he starts, nervously fiddling with the cords of the blue hoodie he’s currently wearing, a grudging loan from Selina, roughly thrust into his arms along with a pair of shorts and sneakers. “I’m… I’m really sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean to, uh… walk in on you, doing your leg… thing.”

“It is alright. No need to apologize,” Rook responds, but his voice sounds strained.

Kenny shrinks in on himself. Great. Is there _anyone_ in this alternate dimension who isn’t mad at him right now? Utterly depressed, he goes back to staring out of the windows and counting all the buildings that are slightly off.

A very uncomfortable few minutes later, the elevator doors slide open with a ‘ping’ and an automated voice politely informs Rook and Kenny that they have arrived at level 42. Rook steps out into the hallway without a word. Kenny quickly hurries after him, the backpack holding his damaged Chrono-suit bouncing on his back.

When they arrive at the door leading to the Chronoporter-room, Rook trails off to the side, leaning over a control panel. Kenny hears him type in a code. Habit makes him try and look around the man’s back, to see what it is. Only to realize that Rook has positioned himself so expertly in front of the key pad that Kenny would have to drop all subtlety to get even a glance at it.

Kenny tries not to feel hurt.

He _is_ an outsider here. It makes sense this dimension’s Rook wouldn’t let him see something as vital as the code to a room with a space-time-travel device.

They enter together, door immediately closing behind them and climb on the transport pad.

“Ready yourself. We will be transported shortly,” Rook says not unkindly, folding his hands behind his back. “Magister Rook to Plumberbase. Two to teleport.”

The telltale feeling of transport-energy starts encompassing Kenny’s body. The world around him and Rook starts to dissolve and reconstruct itself.

The very next second, him and Rook are standing in the Plumberbase’s communications room.

Kenny can’t help but feel a warm sense of familiarity at the bustling of dozens of Plumbers of various species, running around, standing in front of monitors on the upper platforms or simply mingling on the ground floor. He’s been here so often, both as Kenny Tennyson and as Chrono-Spanner, that the place almost feels like a second home.

“Welcome back, Magister,” a croaky voice to their lower right says.

Kenny looks down to see a lanky Galvan wearing a cap and a pair of overalls, with a Plumber-badge serving as the belt, going over a notepad with a bored look on his gray face.

Kenny lights up. “Hey Blukic!”

Blukic stops scribbling numbers on his pad to look up at him skeptically. “Do I know you?”

Kenny blinks, then sighs and deflates. Right. Not his dimension.

Seemingly sensing his distress, Rook steps forward and puts a hand on Kenny’s shoulder. “This is Kenny. He is a traveler from another dimension and needs our help to return there.” He gives Kenny a nod and Kenny takes off his backpack and pulls the Chrono-suit out, holding it up in front of Blukic.

“Do you think you could find a way to repair this suit?” Rook asks.

Blukic steps forward and leans toward the suit, squinting. “Looks pretty banged up, Magister. What’d he do with it, run into a wall?”

Kenny blushes a little and quickly ducks behind the suit.

Blukic sighs, then straightens himself and nods. “I’ll see what me‘n Driba can do. But it’ll probably take a while. Week or two, tops.”

“A _week_ or two?” Kenny squeaks, forgetting his embarrassment. There is no way he’s going to survive a week with Selina!

Blukic gives him an annoyed look. “We’re geniuses kid, not miracle workers. Next time, maybe take better care of your stuff.”

“But I didn’t even-!”

“We appreciate your rapidity on this matter, despite your busy schedule,” Rook cuts Kenny off, shooting him a warning glare that looks way too much like his mom’s.

Kenny gives a huff, but relents and hands over the suit. “Yeah, thanks.”

Blukic nods, then turns to shuffle off towards where Kenny assumes his and Driba’s workshop is. Before Blukic can leave, Rook bends down to lay a disproportionally large hand on his shoulder.

“If you do not mind, I would like to discuss a private matter with you as well,” he says, almost too quietly for Kenny to hear.

Kenny raises an eyebrow. The way Rook emphasizes the words ‘private matter’ makes it clear that this is an order, more than a request. Is it about him? Then why would Rook feel the need to be so secretive about it?

Blukic’s voice tears Kenny out of his thoughts.

“Sure thing, Magister Rook. Just come by whenever.”

Rook gives a nod to Blukic, releasing him. Then he turns to Kenny, an apologetic look on his face.

“I am afraid this concerns matters of the highest security level. You will have to wait here for a while. Do not worry, I will be back shortly.”

Kenny shrugs and puts his hand in his pockets. “No probs, I know my way around.”

Rook gives him a dry smile. “I noticed. Most visitors tend to overlook Blukic. Literally.”

Kenny can’t help but chuckle at that. Rook gives him a reassuring pad on the shoulder.

“If you need help with something, ask for officer Shar or officer Luhley. I have to go.”

Kenny nods and Rook walks off into the direction Blukic went with Kenny’s suit.

Kenny watches him leave, thinking. This dimension’s Rook is a magister, just like uncle Rook back home. Whatever he wants to discuss with Blukic and Driba must be really important, if he thinks he can’t take care of it on his own. That worries Kenny. He doesn’t doubt this dimension’s Rook’s abilities, of course, but if something bigger is going on here, something that has a magister this cautious and secretive, then surely there’s nothing wrong with him providing a little outside help, right?

Rook only told him to wait. He didn’t say Kenny couldn’t look around a bit, right? It’ll be fine if he stays in this room, won’t it?

Taking a quick look around, in case Rook told some of the plumbers in the vicinity to keep an eye on him, Kenny swiftly makes his way up the ramp to the higher platforms.

A few of the plumbers give him brief skeptical looks and glances, but none of them try to stop him. Kenny smirks. It has it’s perks to be close to a magister, even if he isn’t your uncle. He walks past several monitors, occasionally skimming over them as he does. Most of them show the same mix of diplomatic conversations, emergency calls and information on wanted criminals as the ones in the base in his dimension. Nothing severe enough to warrant Rook’s secret-keeping from before.

Kenny walks down to the ground-level again, crossing his arms and frowning. He’ll get nowhere like this. This is the part of the base that regularly accepts officials and civilian visitors. If there’s any sensitive information being stored here, he probably won’t get to it as just ‘the kid the magister brought with him’. Kenny clicks his tongue in frustration. Back home, a lot of the officers he can see in the room would’ve at least let him access a computer.

That’s obviously not going to work here. He doesn’t have a famous dad in this dimension, for one. And these people have never met him before in their lives. If he asks, they’ll probably just wave him off.

His eyes wander towards the hallway Rook and Blukic disappeared into. If the layout of the base is the same as it is back home, he could probably find his way to Blukic’s and Driba’s workshop. There’s usually no one patrolling these halls at this time of day. And if there is, he’ll just tell them he was looking for the toilet or something. It’s better than just standing here, doing nothing.

Kenny looks up at the platforms. No one’s paying any attention to him. As inconspicuously as he can manage, Kenny ambles over to the hallway entrance, hands in his pockets and whistling the Sumo Slammer intro song. No one stops him.

The hallway is empty when Kenny enters it. Doors on the right, windows showing the earth spinning peacefully underneath them on the left. Kenny ignores both and starts striding down the hall, letting muscle memory lead him. He has to dodge into side halls and empty closets a few times, when a plumber or maintenance-worker comes down the opposite side of the hall, but all in all it goes smoothly.

Until he takes a left and finds himself facing a wall.

Kenny blinks. Looks back. And groans.

Great.

Looks like there are a few differences after all. He’ll have to backtrack.

Kenny goes back around the corner, thinking about where he might have to change his route and walks face-first into someone.

Kenny startles, jumping backwards. His balance protests this sudden change of directions and he finds himself tripping and landing on his rear.

Kenny hisses in pain, rubbing the spot on his behind. Before he can think of a convincing excuse for his presence, the other person speaks.

“You shouldn’t be here, child.”

The voice is male, deep and has a metallic ring to it. Kenny looks up to see a mechamorph looming over him.

At least Kenny _thinks_ it’s a mechamorph. The stranger has the characteristic circuitry-markings all over his black body and a single eye in the middle of his head, with a yellow iris that seems to stare down at Kenny, despite possessing no pupil. But there is something… off about the guy.

For one, the markings are red instead of green, unlike with most mechamorphs Kenny knows. And his “eye” is eerily defined, instead of being a mere circle at the top of his head.

A memory sparks up inside of Kenny, of something his father told him a long time ago. Something about an old nemesis of his.

Then it hits him and he feels his blood grow cold.

Malware.

Their name was Malware. A defective mechamorph who almost destroyed an entire planet. He’s here. Right in the Plumber’s base. And no one knows.

No one but Kenny.

Kenny stares up at this dimension’s Malware with wide eyes, trying and failing to think of a way to escape. Malware is taking up the entire part of the hall. From what his dad told Kenny, he’s vulnerable to electricity, like all mechamorphs, but that isn’t much help in an environment with no open wires or anything of the like.

Apparently tired of Kenny’s stubborn silence, Malware leans down, extending a hand towards the boy’s arm.

And Kenny decides to take a risk.

Without hesitating, he leaps underneath Malware’s hand, crouches down into a roll, like aunt Gwen told him, then jumps up to his feet behind the mechamorph and runs.

He only has one chance: If, _if_ this dimension decides to throw him a bone for once, he just needs to make it to the next crossroad and go left. Kenny hears heavy footsteps behind him. His heart is pounding in his chest.

If Malware gets him, it’ll be over. His dad’s stories made it more than clear that the guy’s not above a little child murder. The fact that Kenny’s the only one in here who seems to have seen him probably isn’t helping either.

Please _let_ _it still_ _be there_ , Kenny thinks.

His heart actually skips a beat when he sees a room with three more adjacent hallways.

And then the steps sound closer.

“Stop!” he hears Malware yell behind him. He sounds furious.

Kenny doesn’t bother looking back. He doesn’t want to know how close he is to being crushed alive by a giant, metal hand. He breaks into a sprint.

Kenny’s sneakers slide along on the floor when he takes the left and for a horrible moment, it looks like he’ll slip and fall again. He barely catches himself and dives into the corridor, frantically searching the wall wit his eyes. It looks like this dimension decided tog o easy on him for once, because right there is the metal box with the big button that Kenny knows is the emergency intruder alert.

Kenny rips it open and slams his hand down on the button.

Alarm sirens start blaring all around him.

“Intruder alert! All personnel to arms!” an automated voice calls over loud speaker.

In the next moment, the doors down the corridors slide open all at once, clearing the way for a stream of Plumbers, rifles, guns and hand-to-hand-combat devices of all kinds.

“Has anybody seen the magister?” a Tetramand carrying a massive rifle calls.

“I heard he got here a short time ago,” someone from the crowd responds.

Kenny’s eyes widen. That’s right, Rook!

Kenny pushes his way through the mass of white Plumber-armors until he stands next to the Tetramand.

He gives the man’s lower right arm an insistent tuck until he has his attention.

“Where’s the tech support?”

The Tetramand blinks in confusion. “W-what? Kid, what are you even-?”

“Just tell me!” Kenny yells. “I saw the intruder, I need to get to unc- Magister Rook!”

The Tetramand’s eyes widen. He turns.

“This way!”

The two of them make their way through the moving stream of Plumbers on high alert, through several twisting corridors that Kenny doesn’t recognize. Kenny has to run to keep up with the Tetramand. Part of him wonders where Malware could have disappeared off to. Could he actually have been fast enough to hide before the alarms went off?

The thought of Malware watching from somewhere he can’t see him makes Kenny’s skin crawl. He picks up the pace, so he won’t stray from his companion’s side. When in doubt, stay close to the big guy with the laser-canon, as uncle Argit would say.

Kenny’s never missed his Chrono-suit as badly as he does right now.

* * *

Rook enters the workshop behind Blukic.

“Driba, we got work!” the Galvan calls out, dragging the folded suit over to one of the workbenches.

Rook spots Dribas small, plump form, leaning over a vat of an acid Rook can’t identify, safety goggles on, dipping some sort of sample into the steaming liquid. Driba gives a dismissive grunt at Blukic, not looking up from his task.

“Oh, and the Magister’s here,” Blukic adds, climbing onto the table he put the suit on.

Driba flinches, nearly dropping his sample. He manages to catch it in his tongs at the last second, then turns around, pushing up his goggles to glare at Blukic. “Blukic, you could have told me that first!”

“Why?” Blukic asks, looking up at Driba confusedly.

“Because-! Oh, never mind!”

Mumbling furiously to himself, Driba hops down from the vat, placing the sample on a small table to his left and walks over to Rook. “What seems to be the problem, Magister?”

Rook kneels down and taps his finger against his prosthesis. “I think there might be a problem with the containment unit.”

Driba frowns. “We didn’t find anything during the last check-up.”

“Yes we did,” Blukic chimes in form the worktable. “I told you there was a 0.000001 percent chance that the titanium alloy on the knee could develop rust!”

“And I told you,” Droba answers irritably,”That I couldn’t find anything there and that changing the alloy this soon would severely impact the prosthesis’ functionality.”

“Yeah, but the rampant energy fluctuations that have to be mitigated could be used to keep it runnin’ even if we change the alloy. Like we _should_ have.”

“In any case,” Rook cuts in, before Driba can retaliate. “I would be grateful if you could take a look anyway. Just to be safe.”

Driba shrugs. “Alright, just sit over there, Blukic and I will be getting our tools.” He gestures at one of the normal-sized chairs for visitors standing in a corner.

“Thank you,” Rook nods. He walks over and sits down, throwing a slightly nervous look at the acid vat while he does. “Is this the concentrated hydrogen chloride we were supposed to dispose of?”

Driba drags over a roll car holding a handful of tools. He jumps up on the surface, picking up a scanner and shrugs. “We figured there could be some practical use for it.”

Rook blinks. “I see.”

Driba hovers the scanner over Rook’s prosthesis a few times, then pulls it back and takes a look at the display. He frowns. “Magister, did Ben transform into his Chronosapien form around you recently?”

Rooks shakes his head, furrowing his brow. “No, I do not believe so.”

“Huh, that’s weird,” Driba says slowly. “The containment unit registered a huge influx of temporal energy. About two hours ago.”

Rook instinctively lays a hand on the metal. He can still feel the sting of the shock. The logical side of him knows it’s just in his head. Like the phantom pains that often keep him up at night. That doesn’t make the memory any less unpleasant. Or this new information any less disturbing.

“Is your equipment malfunctioning, perhaps?” he asks, careful to keep his voice calm.

Driba glares up at him, folding his arms. “Excuse me, I’ll have you now I maintain these babies myself! Every month!”

“No, you don’t! You just do it every three months!” Blukic calls from the workbench.

Driba’s face takes on a slightly darker shade of gray. “In any case,” he says quickly, shooting Blukic a dirty look,”These readings are solid. There’s definitely left-over time energy in there. And it’s centered specifically around the containment unit.”

Rook frowns, leaning forward. “Is it possible that it came from the unit itself?”

“Nope,” Driba says, shaking his head. “A hundred percent external.”

Rook nods slowly. “So, we can say with certainty that someone is targeting the-”

The alarm sirens around the lab start to blare, accompanied by an automated voice. Blukic and Driba both yelp, Driba jumping up from where he’s been standing and scurrying to hide behind Rook. Rook jumps up, hand flying to the proto-tool at his waist. “The Intruder Alert?”

“We’re under attack!” Driba screeches, cowering behind Rook’s organic leg.

“Scientists and children first!” Blukic announces, jumping down from the workbench and zipping towards the door.

It opens before he can reach the door-opener. Driba can’t stop himself in time from crashin into the leg of a tetramand, holding a large laser-rifle inhis two lower arms and using his upper two arms when his eyes land on Rook.

“Magister! I have a child here with me who claims to have seen the trespasser!”

Kenny squeezes into the room behind the Tetramand, wheezing and slumping. Rook re-attaches his proto-tool to his belt and walks over to Kenny, laying a calming hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“Deep breaths, Kenny. You are safe now.” He turns to look up at the Tetramand, quickly searching his memory for the man’s name. “Manny, get this boy some water, please.”

Manny salutes again and rushes over to the sink. Kenny has calmed down somewhat when he returns with the requested water, but still gives a thankful nod and empties the glass in one sip. He wipes his mouth and then looks at Rook with a serious look in his eyes.

“I saw who it was. And you should probably evacuate. I know I’m not from here and I don’t know how he got in, but he’s up to no good, I can tell.”

Rook nods, getting back up and turning back towards Manny again. “Assemble the staff in the communications room. The intruder has to be located as quickly as possible.” He looks down at Kenny. “Stay close to me.”

Kenny nods.

They exit the lab together, Rook having re-equipped his proto-tool and Kenny clinging close to him. Manny following behind with Blukic and Driba on his shoulders.

The communications room is positively stuffed when they arrive. Anxious voices float through the room. Almost every plumber in the room is armed, a grim, determined look on their faces. The crowd instantly goes silent when Rook’s group enter the room and splits, letting them pass up to the surveillance monitors.

“Split up into groups of ten, choose a squad leader and have them assemble here,” Rook orders, not looking away from the monitors. On a first glance, he can’t seen anything different or out of place. But if whoever invaded Plumber Headquarters managed to come in this far, he will probably know how to circumvent their security system.

“Have the civilians been evacuated?” he asks no one in particular.

“Yes Magister. They all boarded the emergency aircrafts and are en route to earth right now,” one of the officers answers him.

Rook nods approvingly. Then he turns to Kenny. “You were talking as if you knew the intruder.”

Kenny flinches. “Um, I didn’t know him exactly, but my dad – the Ben 10 from my dimension – he told me about him. And that Malware sounded like a pretty evil guy.”

Rook perks up. “What?”

“Um, Malware? Defective mechamoprh, tried to destroy every other mechamorph in existence and take over the galaxy?” Kenny looks up at him nervously. “I mean, my dad said he was defeated years before I was born and put into a museum, but - “

“Your father must have a very active imagination,” a dry, metallic voice comes from behind them. “Because that is certainly not how I remember it.”

They both turn their head at the exact same time to see Malware standing in front of a group of plumbers, arms folded over his chest. Kenny shrieks and dives to hide behind Rook. “That’s him! Don’t let him touch the tech-y stuff in here, he-”

“Will assimilate them. We know.” Rook interrupts. He’s slowly starting to see the whole picture and he doesn’t know if he should be angry or amused.

A blue-haired revonnahgander-woman elbows her way to the front of the gaggle behind Malware, putting a hand on her hip. “Brother, you said something about an intruder. We should start searching for them, should we not?”

Rook can’t help but give a small chuckle. “Shar, I think-”

“What are you talking about?” Kenny shouts, leaning over from behind Rook to angrily point at Malware. “He’s right there! Why aren’t you arresting him?”

Shar raises an eyebrow. “And you are?”

Rook gives Kenny a calming pat to the head, then turns around to disable the Intruder Alert. The sirens and the announcements are replaced by an awkward, tense silence.

“Do you… do you mean Malware?” Rook hears Shar ask in a disbelieving tone.

“Evidently I frightened this child,” Malware responds, amusement in his voice. “Though I wouldn’t know when. This is the first time I’ve seen him. Though I admit, he does look familiar...”

Rook turns back to Kenny to find the boy staring at Malware, utterly flabbergasted, eyes wandering up and down the mechamorph.

“Wait. Why are you wearing a plumber uniform? You’re a bad guy!” He looks up at Rook, uncertainty in his eyes. “Isn’t he?”

The plumbers around them start to relax. Some of them groan in annoyance, some give exhausted, if good-natured chuckles. Rook can’t help but feel sorry for Kenny. The poor boy looks completely confused now.

Rook walks over to the platform’s edge to face the still assembled plumbers on the ground floor.

“It was a false alarm. You may return to your posts.” He turns his head towards the plumbers sitting at the consoles. “Inform the evacuation teams that they can return safely.”

They nod and starts pressing buttons, repeating his words into the communicators in front of them.

Rook walks back towards the surveillance monitors, where a very red-faces Kenny is waiting for him.

Rook looks down at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Um, oops?” Kenny chuckles nervously, giving a light shrug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the longest chapter as of yet. Not much Ben and Selina, but that'll change in future chapters, promise!
> 
> Did the twist surprise you?
> 
> Probably not, since I made it really obvious^^''


End file.
